Press kit - 2003 Nürburgring 24 Hour Race
1. Gearing up for the world's most challenging circuit. 2. BMW endurance victories. 3. Interview with Hans-Joachim Stuck. 4. Team and drivers. 5. Technology behind the BMW M3 GTR. 6. Schedule, stats, regulation extracts. 7. BMW Driver Training on the Nürburgring. 8. Press contacts.
1. Gearing up for the world's most challenging circuit.
Opinions are emphatically undivided: the consensus is that the Nordschleife of
the Nürburgring is the most difficult race track in the world. This strip of
asphalt is both loved and detested. The northern circuit of the Nürburgring, on
which the 24 Hour Race takes place on 31st May/1st June, is 25.947 kilometres
long and has a total of 86 turns. The landscape renders it a roller-coaster
ride through dense forests that seem to swallow everything up. No victory is as
sweet as the one after a bitterly cold and frequently wet night in the 24 Hour
Race in the Eifel. BMW, by far the most successful marque in this marathon, has
tasted such victory 16 times already - the first time was at the maiden event
of 1970. One of the triumphant drivers of that event will also be at the wheel
in 2003 for the Munich-based works team: Hans-Joachim Stuck.
Skill and courage are essential on the Nordschleife. A race outing on the
circuit dubbed the "green hell" is not recommended for greenhorns. That is why,
on the 31st of May, BMW will be lining up with a high-calibre squad of drivers.
Contesting the 31st edition of this endurance classic will be the two BMW M3
GTRs of BMW Motorsport with more than 450 bhp. They will be managed by the
Freilassing-based Schnitzer Team led by Charly Lamm. Under Lamm's strategic
control, BMW touring cars have already claimed two overall victories at the
Nürburgring 24 Hour Race, as well as five wins in the 24 Hours of
Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and one at the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) in
1999 with the open-topped BMW V12 LMR prototype.
Making up the team besides Stuck (52) are Danish driver John Nielsen (47) and
Boris Said (40) of the United Sates. Alternating at the wheel of the second BMW
M3 GTR will be three Germans: Claudia Hürtgen (31) and the two (unrelated) BMW
works drivers Dirk Müller (27) and Jörg Müller (33). As a backup driver, Marc
Duez (46) of Belgium will be supporting the BMW Motorsport team.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "The selection criteria were clear: it
was a matter of experience of the Nürburgring Nordschleife along with
experience in GT sports cars and 24-hour events." And there's another thing
that unites the seven drivers - all of them have already claimed numerous
victories for BMW.
BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger sums up the team's strategy: "We will be
pitching for BMW's 17th overall victory." The most recent of these to be
claimed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours was in 1998, and it made history: a BMW
320d was the first diesel-powered touring car to win such an event, propelled
it across the start-finish line by none other than Hans-Joachim Stuck.
BMW M3 GTR: a success from the word go.
The muscular BMW M3 GTR made its debut in 2001 in the American Le Mans Series
(ALMS), where it triumphed in all disciplines. Jörg Müller won the drivers'
championship, BMW Motorsport won the team classifications, and BMW claimed the
manufacturers' title in the company's most important export market.
The 4-litre V8 engine driving the BMW M3 GTR produces over 450 bhp, and with
inclines of up to 17 per cent on the Nordschleife, every single horsepower
counts on this track. A specially developed chassis, fine-tuned aerodynamics
and strategic lightweight design with carbon fibre body panels make the M3 into
a commanding GT sports car.
200 cars and 150,000 spectators.
A starting field of around 200 vehicles - from small cars kitted out with
raceworthy safety features all the way to proper sports cars - and crowds of up
to 150,000 make the 24 Hour Race on the Nürburgring one of Germany's premier
motorsport events. It will be staged for the 31st time in 2003. Since 1970,
this spectacular endurance race has been held in the Eifel, being cancelled
only in 1974 and 1975 due to the energy crisis at the time.